Artist Tyrone Wells has been singing to his daughter Aria for years. But it was only recently that thousands of others caught on to the tender father-daughter relationship that has gone viral in a YouTube video.

Sarah Sanders Petersen

Tyrone Wells has been singing to his daughter Aria for years. But it was only recently that thousands of others caught on to the tender father-daughter relationship that has gone viral in a YouTube video.
Wells, a singer-songwriter from Washington, posted a video of his daughter's reaction to one of his songs, "Beautiful Girl, Beautiful World," in 2012, but within the past week it has been viewed more than 500,000 times after Godvine and other social sharing sites linked to it.
The video begins by showing Aria crying in a car seat, but as soon as she hears the first note of her dad's song, the tears stop. Many have shared the emotional video and left comments regarding the father-daughter connection.
Wells said they first learned of his daughter's love for the song while on a family road trip.
"Our daughter, Aria, had to be in her car seat in the back of the car for several long days of driving," Wells wrote in an email to the Deseret News. "Whenever Aria started crying we would try whatever we could to help soothe her. We learned pretty quickly that my song, 'Beautiful Girl, Beautiful World' really did the trick."
In the video, Aria smiles often after hearing her father's voice and seems to sing along with the song as she cues and moves her mouth.
"I think Aria is definitely soothed by my voice, but also the lullaby nature of that particular song," Wells said. "My wife Elina is also a singer-songwriter and Aria is often soothed by her voice as well."
While it has quickly become a song for Aria, Wells explained that he originally wrote it long before she was born with fellow singer-songwriter Evan McHugh.
"We were both talking about our wives and how their beauty helped to make the world more beautiful to us," Wells said.
"But that's the great thing about music. It can mean one thing to one person and something totally different to someone else."
Although Wells is often on the road, he makes sure not to miss any time he has to spend with his family.
"Family time is very important in our home," Wells said. "I have learned that if I'm not extremely intentional about protecting family time, it will get gobbled up by other less important things."
Wells has released two No. 1 singer-songwriter albums on iTunes and has more than 50 placements in film and TV, but he said time with his family and his role as a father have meant the most.
"I think being a parent is the most rewarding thing I have ever done. It's a very positive thing to learn to consider someone else's needs above your own, which is what parenting is all about," Wells said.
"Also, I feel like I understand the idea of being a 'child of God' a lot more. It's very comforting to me to experience the love that I have for Aria and imagine that God loves me in a similar way."
As to why the video has resonated with so many people who don't know Wells and his family, Wells said it comes from the connection people make with the music and Aria.
"I think we captured a very raw moment. A moment where the emotional impact and beauty of music and the familiarity of a parent's voice to his child is on display for all to see," Wells said.
"A lot of people tell me that they both laugh and cry when they see this video. It's truly a very human and real moment."%3Cimg%20src%3D%22http%3A//beacon.deseretconnect.com/beacon.gif%3Fcid%3D137123%26pid%3D46%22%20/%3E